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Curriculum

Contact: Office of Admissions
Phone: 315 464-4570
Email: admiss@upstate.edu

The first year begins in the summer, and the program of study includes a minimum of 121 graduate credit hours over three years (including summers). The curriculum includes classroom instruction and clinical education experiences, which may include day, evening, and weekend classes.

Clinical Education

Clinical education comprises nearly one third of the curriculum and we are committed to high quality learning experiences that prepare students for successful entry into the profession. Students participate in short-term, integrated clinical experiences embedded within courses as well as in thirty-six weeks of full-time clinical education experiences interspersed throughout the program, including two ten-week clinical experiences in the final semester. The full-time experiences occur in 4 different practice settings. Students should plan to travel for one or more of these full-time clinical experiences as several excellent learning opportunities are available that are not commutable from Syracuse. These include experiences throughout the state of New York, including the Metro-NYC area, the tri-state area, as well as some opportunities across the nation.

Minimum number of credits: 121 (includes 3 required credits of electives).
Students may take up to 9 credits of electives.

For individual course descriptions, please visit the Academic Catalog

First Year

First Year Summer Credit Hours
PHYT 601 Gross Anatomy 6
PHYT 602 Professional Behaviors 3
Total 9
First Year Fall Credit Hours
PHYT 611 Bioscience I 5
PHYT 615 Introduction to Manual Therapy and Exercise 3
PHYT 621 Foundations of Patient/Client Management 3
PHYT 625 Kinesiology and Examination the Upper Quarter 4
PHYT 642 Research Methods 2
Total 17
First Year Spring Credit Hours
PHYT 604 Differential Diagnosis in Physical Therapy 3
PHYT 605 Neuroscience 6
PHYT 612 Bioscience II 2
PHYT 616 Physical Agents: Assessment and Intervention 2
PHYT 626 Kinesiology and Examination of the Lower Quarter 4
Total
Year 1 ISPE Required
17

Second Year

Second Year Summer Credit Hours
PHYT 631 Patient/Client Management: Adult Neurological Disorders 3
PHYT 632 Patient/Client Management: The Spine 2
PHYT 644 Physiology of Exercise 2
Total 7
Second Year Fall Credit Hours
PHYT 661 Clinical Experience I 8
PHYT 636 Patient/Client Management: Acquired Conditions 3
PHYT 637 Ethics & Social Determinants of Health 1
PHYT 641 Teaching & Learning in PT 2
Total 14
Second Year Spring Credit Hours
Elective(s) 1-3
PHYT 618 Advanced Therapeutic Exercise/Activities 3
PHYT 634 Patient/Client Management: Developmental Disabilities 3
PHYT 643 Critical Inquiry 1
PHYT 646 Patient/Client Management:Orthopedics 3
PHYT 647 Psychosocial Aspects of Patient Care 2
PHYT 648 Imaging 2
PHYT 650 Integumentary Management 1
Total
Year 2 ISPE Required
16 - 18

Third Year

Third Year Summer Credit Hours
PHYT 662 Clinical Experience II 8
Elective(s) 0-3
Total 8-11
Third Year Fall Credit Hours
PHYT 635 Patient/Client Management: Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Disorders 3
PHYT 638 Ethics in Action Through Service 1
PHYT 651 Applied Clinical Decision Making 2
PHYT 652 Management Principles 2
PHYT 654 Geriatrics for Physical Therapists 3
Elective(s) 1-3
Total 12-15
Spring Semester Credit Hours
PHYT 663 Clinical Experience III 10
PHYT 664 Clinical Experience IV 10
Total 20
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